David Dearborn of Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, has devised strategies to monitor and then thwart celestial menaces.Dearborn, a research physicist, spoke at three free seminars Saturday in Livermore, describing his strategy for using nuclear blasts to prevent devastating meteorite strikes on Earth.

Keeping an eye out for asteroids ought to be of interest to all earthlings, given the known hazards inherent in collisions with space objects. Congress shouldn't allow a relatively low-cost mission to identify hazards languish for lack of funds.Earth in the past has collided with asteroids and other cosmic debris to devastating effect. Some scientists think one such collision about 65 million years ago contributed to the extinction of the dinosaurs.In 1908, a meteoroid about 100 yards across struck Siberia, and flattened trees for hundreds of square miles around. Had it struck a populated area, the necessity for tracking Near Earth Objects (NEOs) would be more readily apparent.

A blue-ribbon panel of scientists is trying to determine the best way to detect and ward off any wandering space rocks that might be on a collision course with Earth.

"We're looking for the killer asteroid" - James Heasley, of the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy, recently told the committee that the National Academy of Sciences created at Congress' request.

Congress asked the academy to conduct the study after astronomers were unable to eliminate an extremely slight chance that an asteroid called Apophis will slam into Earth with devastating effect in 2036.

Researchers at the Tel Aviv University have studied the makeup of asteroids to devise methods to save the Earth from a collision course with the 'space rocks' in the future.Astrophysicists agree that the best method for avoiding a catastrophic collision would be to change the path of the asteroid heading toward our planet.

The UNs leading asteroid scientist says the international community must prepare to act to prevent asteroids colliding with the Earth.Professor Richard Crowthers comments come as a group of space experts called for a co-ordinated science led response to the asteroid threat.The Association of Space Explorers (ASE) says missions to intercept asteroids will need global approval.The UN will meet in February to discuss the issue.In the ASE report, the group of scientists and former astronauts point to the historical record to highlight the dangers of asteroids; an impact 65 million years ago may have wiped out the dinosaurs, and the Tunguska impact in 1908 produced a 2000 sq km fire in Siberia, big enough to engulf a city the size of New York.

Between 500 and 1,000 massive asteroids cross the Earth's path regularly and any one of them could cause a global catastrophe, space experts warned Tuesday, urging quick preventive measures.Some 6,000 cosmic objects circulating around the planet are currently known to experts in the field, the Association of Space Explorers (ASE) told a press conference at the UN headquarters in Vienna, where it presented its report "Asteroid Threats: A Call for Global Response."

Asteroid near-miss prompts calls for astronomy fundingAstronomers have calling for more funding to watch southern skies, after an asteroid took sky-gazers by surprise and entered the earth's atmosphere over Africa yesterday.

Time for UN to keep tabs, say expertsDoomsday from above is unlikely. But just in case, the U.N. should develop a warning network to detect, track and deter potentially planet-destroying asteroids and comets, a group of astronauts said today.

Scientists explore ways to meet threat of an asteroid strikeAn asteroid hurtles toward Earth, threatening devastation. A team of attractive young scientists and engineers launches a rocket that crashes into the asteroid and knocks it off course - just in the nick of time.Read more

So, a big nasty rock is heading for Earth. Who you gonna call?Nineteen regions or countries, including Canada, have space programs, but - Hollywood epics notwithstanding - there is no cooperative process for deflecting a killer asteroid.